African poultry production is dominated by South African companies, as four of the top six broiler producers are headquartered in South Africa.
RCL Foods and Astral Foods are by far the continent’s largest two poultry companies, having slaughtered 260 million and 228.3 million broilers annually in 2017, according to the Poultry International Top Poultry Companies Survey. Both are South African companies.
Coming in at a distant third is Cairo Poultry, headquartered in Egypt, which slaughtered 75 million broiler chickens in 2017.
Of the remaining top 6 African poultry companies, two are from South Africa: Country Bird Holdings, and Sovereign Food Investments. The sixth-ranked African broiler company is Egypt’s Arab Poultry Breeders Co.
More information about those companies and others can be found on the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database.
Africa’s top 6 poultry companies are:
1. RCL Foods
RCL Foods Ltd. is Africa’s largest chicken processor, having slaughtered 260 million chickens in 2017. The company operates more than 200 farms and distributes goods across South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Uganda and Zambia.
2. Astral Foods
Astral Foods is an integrated poultry producer with several subsidiaries, including National Chicks, County Fair, Ross Poultry, Tiger Chicks, Tiger Animal Feeds and Provimi. The company is the largest producer of broiler chicks in South Africa and the country's second largest chicken processor. It slaughtered 228.3 chickens in 2017.
3. Cairo Poultry Co.
Cairo Poultry Co. (CPC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Food Co., is Egypt’s largest broiler company, having slaughtered 75 million chickens annually. It is a leading vertically integrated poultry company in the Middle East and North Africa.
4. Country Bird Holdings
Country Bird Holdings is South Africa's third-largest poultry firm, having slaughtered 74 million chickens last year. The company concentrates its operations focus on the quick-service restaurant market.
5. Sovereign Food Investments
Sovereign Food Investments slaughtered 65 million chickens last year. In 2015, Sovereign acquired Tydstroom Poultry's abattoir from Quantum Foods to fully integrate its existing facilities: a hatchery, breeder and broiler operations, processing plant, feed mill and sales and marketing unit. In addition to its private label business, Sovereign Foods owns the Country Range and Cater Chicken brands outright, and co-owns several additional brands of further-processed poultry.
6. Arab Poultry Breeders Co.
Arab Poultry Breeders Co. (Ommat), Egypt’s second largest broiler company, slaughtered 58 million broilers in 2017. It is also a major poultry breeder, supplying day-old layer and broiler chicks throughout the country and in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan.
